What Do These Financial Truths Mean for Us Today?

Scripture: Nehemiah 5:10-13

"And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury. "Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them." Then they said, "We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say." So I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. I also shook out the front of my garment and said, "Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" And they praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.

Insights: There are four basic “take-aways” from this week’s study.  First, God is pleased when we handle money wisely.  In all reality these thirteen verses we have looked at this week all revolve around this singular subject.  We need to be wise stewards of God’s money.  We are not the owners of those resources and we need to stop living life as if we were.  If we are withholding our tithes, we are robbing God.  If we are not increasing our financial giving to the things God would call us to support because we have reached a pharisaical percentage, then we are sinning against God’s authority.  The point is our money fits into an arena of life that can quickly become sin.  More importantly, however, it also is the area that often reflects the true nature of our heart.  Second, prolonged personal sin takes a heavy toll on God’s work in your life.  There was no mention of the wall being built in this week’s verses because of the sin that had gone on for so long.  The longer we live in sin the harder it is to be delivered from it.  Deliverance is still possible, but the price one pays for his sin is far greater than God ever desired for man.  Third, correct any sin problem by facing it head-on.  There is not gradual breaking of sin.  We must deal with it right now.  God has the power to work miraculously in your life.  Finally, correction is carried out most effectively when we make a public promise.  In other words, get an accountability partner to walk this journey with you.

Questions:

1. How are you using God’s money?
2. Are you correcting your sin problems head-on?

Prayer: Father, I am so grateful You are a merciful God.  I also know You are a holy God who takes sin seriously and deals with it judiciously.  Work in my heart an make me pure before You by the blood of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.

The Implementation of Those Financial Practices, Part 2

Scripture: Nehemiah 5:10-13

"And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury. "Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them." Then they said, "We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say." So I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. I also shook out the front of my garment and said, "Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" And they praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.

Insights: It was not enough for Nehemiah to just make accusations against the leaders regarding their sin.  He also needed to confront them about it and that is what we see in today’s verses.  Nehemiah listed four things they need to do to stop this sin and make things right before God and man.  First, they needed to stop sinning.  He tells them in verse ten to stop charging interest to their fellow Jewish brothers because this was sin in violation to the Mosaic Law.  Beloved, you cannot gradually stop sinning.  You must determine right now to stop the sin.  Second, however, stopping the sin is not enough.  You must also make specific plans to correct the situation.  The sin is filling, wrongly I might add, a void in your life.  God was the only One designed to fill that void and so you must make plans to intentionally have the Lord fill that space.  Otherwise, you will just return back to your sin.  In verse eleven Nehemiah tells them the steps to get right with their brothers in regards to their sin as it pertained to finances.  Third, declare you plan as a promise to God.  The people make a vow before the priests to stop this financial sinning against their brothers.  There is strength in publically telling an accountability partner the sin you have been committing and asking him or her to hold you accountable to the Lord in order to stop this sin.  Finally, Nehemiah shook his garments to visually show the people how serious God takes a promise.  Don’t forsake your vow to the Lord.

Questions:

1. What sin has trapped you and become a stronghold in your life?
2. Are you willing to stop this sin and start filling the void with Christ Jesus?

Prayer: Father, forgive me of my sin and cleanse me from my unrighteousness.  Show me the ways in which I need to replace my sin with Your presence and give me the courage to act accordingly. Amen.

The Implementation of Those Financial Practices, Part 1

Scripture: Nehemiah 5:7-9

I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, "You are exacting usury, each from his brother!" Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. I said to them, "We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?" Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. Again I said, "The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

Insights: I am so grateful verse seven is found in this passage.  In verse six we were told that Nehemiah got very angry, but now in verse seven we are told that he consulted with himself.  Nehemiah got alone with God and the Lord calmed his angry heart down.  The Lord made it possible for the rest of today’s verses to take place.  Nehemiah confronted these nobles and rulers with their sin.  Beloved, we need people in our lives that are willing to say the hard words of truth to us and confront us when we are in sin.  Nehemiah was such a person.  Verse seven tells us he confronted them about the interest they were charging their fellow Jews.  Verse eight is a confrontation regarding their practice of slavery against their fellow Jews.  This sin was also wrong and ought to have never started.  Finally in verse nine Nehemiah confronted them about their loss of distinction in the eyes of the surrounding nations.  This final sin is not only wrong it is tragic.  As we learned yesterday, God had chosen the people of Israel to be His special possession.  Their lives were supposed to be so different that the surrounding nations would recognize their distinctions and desire to know the God of the Israelites.  Unfortunately the very opposite thing occurred.  The Israelites began taking on the practices of the pagan nations and as a result did not look different at all.  This history is horrific.  Beloved, I wonder, however, if we, as the “church of America,” are any different than these Jews in today’s verses.  Has our “church life” become so infiltrated by the world system that a lost person is incapable of distinguishing the difference between us and the local lions club?  Our worship services ought to be so full of God’s manifest glory that a watching world recognizes the distinctions.  God forgive us for losing our distinction.

Questions:

1. Do you take time to calm down before you go and confront someone?
2. Are you willing to acknowledge the sin in your life?

Prayer: Father, let me first seek You and Your council before I confront another with their sin.  Let my life truly be free from the strongholds of sin in my life.  I know this can only happen by Your grace. Amen.

The Biblical Instructions Regarding Finances

Scripture: Deuteronomy 23:19-20

"You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. "You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.

Insights: Yesterday we left Nehemiah angry at the people.  Why was he angry?  It was because they had violated the Mosaic Law.  Let me clarify something about today’s verses.  They were written to the Israelite nation and these specific laws do not necessarily relate to us Christ-followers in the same way they did to the Jewish people.  The principles, however, are very much applicable to our lives and our finances.  As a brief review from yesterday, the people were facing financial crises from high interest rates that lead to slavery.  In today’s verses we are informed that a Jewish person was not to charge his fellow Jewish neighbor interest, but that it was okay to charge a non-Jew interest.  Now the next part of this equation is not found in today’s verse, but it is found in Leviticus twenty-five, the Jews were also not to enslave another Jew.  In Nehemiah’s situation, both of those mandates were being violated.  It was for this sin against the Law that Nehemiah got so angry.  The last part of verse twenty in today’s verses is part of the clue as to what is at stake for the children of Israel in the Nehemiah passage for this week.  They were breaking the Law; and because they were breaking the Law, God was not blessing them.  The end of verse twenty tells us the Lord wanted to bless them when they took possession of the Promised Land, but obedience was required.  The reason God wanted to bless them was to prove to the other nations that the children of Israel were different from any other nation.  They were God’s children and He wanted to show off His children to the watching world.  So, God set up rules to live by that would distinguish them from everyone else and He would bless them because of their distinction.  There was to be a very visible difference between the way they lived their lives and the lost world lived their lives.  This distinction was to point the nations back to God.  They did not live that way, and God did not bless them, and Nehemiah got angry.  Our lives are to look differently because of our relationship with God.

Questions:

1. Does your life show a distinction between you, because of your relationship with Jesus, and the rest of the lost world?
2. Are you following God’s principles as it relates to your finances?

Prayer: Father, let my life show a distinction because of being Your child.  Guide me to the truths of Your Word and let It guide me into obedience with You. Amen.

The Crises the People Faced and the Reasons Behind Them

Scripture: Nehemiah 5:1-6             

Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, "We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live." There were others who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our houses that we might get grain because of the famine." Also there were those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. "Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others." Then I was very angry when I had heard their outcry and these words.

Insights: In today’s verses we see three financial crises the people of Judah faced as well as the reasons those crises existed.  The first crisis was not enough food to go around.  The second crisis was the people were mortgaging their homes because of the spiraling inflation problem.  The third crisis was the people being heavily in debt and unable to pay back their loans.  The causes for these crises were also threefold.  One, there was a severe famine.  This famine caused the lack of food necessary to feed the people.  Two, there were too many taxes and just like in the time of Jesus, the tax collectors were able to exact huge taxes in order to line their pocket books.  Three, there were high interest rates and these rates make our present day economy seem like a picnic.  The rates during Nehemiah’s day were so bad the parents were being forced to sell their kids off to slavery.  These reports coming out of the Jerusalem Times in Nehemiah’s day could easily be the headlines from The Wall Street Journal or New York Times.  The point is the Bible is not some outdated irrelevant book.  The issues the people of Judah were facing are no different from people today.  Because of these financial crises the people of Judah went on strike and refused to work.  In the thirteen verses we are going to explore this week there is no mention of the wall.  This reality is a first for Nehemiah and the people of Judah.  Up to this point, the wall maintained progress, but no longer.  Notice with me how Nehemiah responded when he saw the strike lines being formed and heard of the suffering of the people—he was very angry.  Today’s verses lay the foundation for everything else we will look at this week.

Questions:

1. Are you facing a financial crisis of any kind presently?
2. What are the reasons for your financial crisis?

Prayer: Father, help me to become a better steward of my finances.  When I am facing crises in my finances, Lord, let me run to You quickly and receive Your guidance. Amen.

The Cures for Discouragement, Part 3

Scripture: Nehemiah 4:18-23         

As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me. I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. "At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us." So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared. At that time I also said to the people, "Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day." So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.

Insights: Today we will conclude with the last two cures for discouragement.  The first cure is: serving at a rallying point.  We see this point expressed in verses eighteen through twenty in today’s verses.  When the enemy attacked they were to blow trumpets to indicate where the battle was to be fought and everyone would run to that rallying point and fight.  In these verses there was a literal point in which the people were to rally, but there is also a principle at work here.  The principle is: don’t do ministry alone.  The people gathered together.  When we try and serve the Lord in isolation, we get tired and burned out, but when we serve with someone we get rejuvenated and strengthened to serve even more courageously for the Lord.  The second cure is: serve, PERIOD!  Notice in verses twenty-one through twenty-three how hard the people served.  They were not even able to change their clothes the work was so intense.  They were so focused on the serving that they did not have time to think about anything else, including a bath and new clothes.  They understood the importance of this assignment and now that they were no longer discouraged because of their service.  Beloved, we need to remember these very important lessons we have learned this week out the life of Nehemiah.  As you serve, may the joy of your salvation return to you because your eyes are on the Lord.  Bring glory to our Father by serving and obeying Him today.

Questions:

1. Are you trying to do ministry alone?
2. In what ways are you serving the Lord in order to cure the discouragement in your life?

Prayer: Father, may my life bring glory to You as I serve You.  May I enjoy years of fruitful labor with my fellow brothers and sisters under Your grace. Amen.

The Cures for Discouragement, Part 2

Scripture: Nehemiah 4:15-17         

When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah. Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.

Insights: Today we will be looking at the third cure for discouragement.  It is serving with a balance between thoughts and actions.  Notice how the Lord God placed a thought on the heart of Nehemiah regarding the best course of action to take in order for the productivity of the wall to resume.  Today’s verses give you that balance between Nehemiah’s thoughts and the action of implementation.  Even within his plan we see the balance of thought and action.  You have those with the swords standing guard and thinking as to what an enemy is really and what a shadow next to a tree is.  At the same time you have the workers actually doing the work of rebuilding the wall while they are being watched over.  In so many ways this balanced life was what Paul and James were writing about when it came to the subject of faith.  Paul was writing to an audience of people that were so overly zealous for action that they were trying to earn their salvation through their extensive works.  Paul writes to them, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).”  James on the other hand had this intellectual crowd who did not want to do anything but think about their faith.  James writes to them, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself (James 2:17).”  There must be a balance between thinking and doing in our Christian service.  John Wycliffe is a great example of such a balance.  He was a great thinker and knew languages, but he knew it was not enough to just think about those words.  He knew he had to put action to his knowledge and translate an English Bible.  His reward was they burned him at the stake, but he had a proper balance between thoughts and action in his service to the Lord.

Questions:

1. Are you more of a thinker or a doer?
2. What disciplines do you need to acquire in order to be more balanced?

Prayer: Father, help me to not be so rash that I jump in to the fray without thinking; and at the same time, give me the courage to act once I have finished thinking and know the direction to take. Amen.